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Marie-Helene Bertino

Goodreads Author

Born

Philadelphia, The United States

Website

http://www.mariehelenebertino.com/books/beautyl...

Twitter

mhbertino@gmail.com

Genre

Literature & Fiction

Influences

film, music, rescue dogs, wandering

Member Since

April 2012

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Marie-Helene Bertino was born and raised in Philadelphia. She is the author of the novels Beautyland (Best Books of 2024 (So Far) NYTimes, TIME Magazine, Esquire, Elle)), Parakeet (NYTimes Editor's Choice) and 2 a.m. at The Cat's Pajamas, and the short story collection Safe as Houses. Awards include The O. Henry Prize, The Pushcart Prize, The Iowa Short Fiction Award, The Mississippi Review Prize, The Center for Fiction NYC Emerging Writers Fellowship and The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Fellowship in Cork, Ireland. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Tin House, Electric Literature, Granta, Guernica, BOMB, among many others. She is the recipient of fellowships from The MacDowell Colony, Hedgebrook Writers Colony, The Ce ...more

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Marie-Helene Bertino’s books

Average rating: 3.93 · 44,978 ratings · 8,334 reviews · 12 distinct works • Similar authors

	Beautyland 4.08 avg rating — 31,486 ratings — published 2024 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas 3.46 avg rating — 8,044 ratings — published 2014 — 34 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Parakeet 3.65 avg rating — 3,845 ratings — published 2020 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Safe as Houses 4.16 avg rating — 596 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Exit Zero 3.77 avg rating — 593 ratings — published 2025 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Stories by Hannah Tinti (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author) (Foreword), Rabih Alameddine 3.84 avg rating — 268 ratings — published 2022 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	North Of by Marie-Helene Bertino (Goodreads Author), Jim Shepard (Editor) 4.03 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Carry Me Home, Sisters of St. Joseph by Marie-Helene Bertino (Goodreads Author), Lucie Shelly (Foreword) 4.83 avg rating — 12 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Edna in Rain really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Michael in Light Colors 4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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For today’s collection, we begin with an earnest appeal from the Goodreads editorial team: If you’re not already in the habit, try mixing some...

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Marie-Helene rated a book it was amazing Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I believe in Adina.
Mar 20, 2025 07:00AM · 58 likes · like · see review
Marie-Helene rated a book it was amazing The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2024 10:44AM · 1 like · like
Marie-Helene rated a book it was amazing Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2024 10:44AM · 1 like · like
Marie-Helene rated a book it was amazing The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2024 10:43AM · 1 like · like
Marie-Helene has read Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2024 10:43AM · like
Marie-Helene has read The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction, Readers' Favorite Debut Novel	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2024 10:43AM · like
Marie-Helene rated a book it was amazing Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I believe in Adina.
Nov 18, 2024 10:42AM · 58 likes · like · see review
Marie-Helene rated a book it was amazing The Isle of Youth: Stories by Laura van den Berg (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2024 10:41AM · 1 like · like
Marie-Helene rated a book it was amazing I Hold a Wolf by the Ears: Stories by Laura van den Berg (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2024 10:41AM · 1 like · like
Marie-Helene rated a book it was amazing Find Me by Laura van den Berg (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2024 10:41AM · 1 like · like

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Quotes by Marie-Helene Bertino (?)

“What we love, we mention."
"Then I must love you because I mention you all the time.”
― Marie-Helene Bertino

tags: love, romance

30 likes

“The ego of the human male is by far the most dangerous aspect of human society.

THIS HAS BEEN WELL-DOCUMENTED.”
― Marie-Helene Bertino, Beautyland

25 likes

“Anyone questioning whether god exists need only consider the brevity of a dog’s life span. If there was a god, let alone a benevolent one, dogs would have life spans similar to parrots.”
― Marie-Helene Bertino, Beautyland

23 likes

See all Marie-Helene Bertino's quotes »

Polls

Which fiction book would you like to read with us during July? Please vote here.

The Personal ...Librarian by Marie Benedict

24 votes, 36.4%

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

16 votes, 24.2%

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

13 votes, 19.7%

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

9 votes, 13.6%

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

4 votes, 6.1%

66 total votes

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Marie-Helene’s Quotes

“Music fills the space between them. Mark wants to take the pill that keeps him awake, but not in front of his daughter. Instead, he flirts. "There's a lot of trouble with a brown-eyed handsome man. In your travels have you found this to be true?"
This is Madeleine's favorite game. His role is to ask silly questions and hers is to answer as if he is serious, neither one acknowledging the other conversation that goes on wordlessly around them, in which some other, better version of themselves say: Isn't it nice to be father and daughter?”
― Marie-Helene Bertino, 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas

1 likes

“It is dark, dark seven A.M. on Christmas Eve Eve.”
― Marie-Helene Bertino, 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas

3 likes

“The heavy thud of the front door closing. He leaves the phone on the desk. The hallway is dark and long and empty. "Louisa?" His voice echoes against the walls as if he is asking himself her name.”
― Marie-Helene Bertino, 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas

1 likes

“Bob Dylan never has his own cigarettes. I thought this was charming at first.”
― Marie-Helene Bertino, Safe as Houses

1 likes

“I'm a minor character in my own life.”
― Marie-Helene Bertino, 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas

7 likes

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